“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Ford and are excited about the many opportunities to leverage the power of digital manufacturing to deliver durable, end-use parts with similar – or better – properties as injection molded parts,” said Dr. Joseph DeSimone, CEO and Co-founder of Carbon.

“The automotive industry shows significant promise for using digital fabrication at scale, and our work with Ford is a perfect example of the kind of innovation you can achieve when you design on the means of production.”

A Ford Focus HVAC Lever Arm Service Part. Photo via Carbon.

Carbon, Ford & 3D printing

According to Joy H. Forsmark, a technical expert at Ford Motor Company Research and Advanced Engineering Laboratories, Ford regards themselves as one of the earliest adopters of 3D printing. This is because the company purchased the “3rd Stereolithography machine ever made” back in 1988.

An upgrade of the original M1 model, Carbon’s M2 3D printer has used CLIP to produce adidas’ Futurecraft 4D 3D printed midsoles. The M2 also plays a central role in Carbon’s SpeedCell system, a configuration that connects the 3D printers to a Carbon Smart Part Washer, boosting productivity.

Ford and Carbons 3D printed parts in production can be viewed at the Additive Manufacturing for Automotive Workshop at NAIAS until the January 27.